Hijacked links
Every 3 or 4 new pages is hijacked and clicking a link or a search button on the page opens a new tab to http://www.smartnewtab.com/ that then quickly opens one of a set of financial product sites (Binary Trading etc). I cannot find the culprit and adwcleaner and bit defender malware fighter can't find it either. Am using Panda and WinPatrol and these haven't warned me at any time. Any recommendations? Am using FF 43 Portable at the moment. Thanks in advance
Trevor
Chosen solution
Malwarebytes removed 2 odd files about 40hrs ago and the problem hass not surfaced since. So, this may be solved.
Thanks for the help.
Trevor
Read this answer in context 👍 0All Replies (7)
Is the problem on Portable or a regular installation of Firefox?
Could you test in Firefox's Safe Mode? In Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.
If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox.
If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:
- "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
- Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
and OK the restart.
Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).
Any improvement?
Thanks for the response. Am in Safe Mode now and the first site I visited, the first link on that forum was hijacked and a new tab opened directed to a gambling site.
I have downloaded the Win64 version of FF but am reluctant to install it in case it gets hijacked. Also concerned that my other two PC's will get taken via FF Sync :-(
Trevor
Is there anything special about how your Firefox connects to the network, for example, a proxy server, private VPN, Tor, Hola, or being "filtered" by security or parental control software?
You could check your Firefox connection settings here:
"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options
In the left column, click Advanced. On the right side, click the "Network" mini-tab and then the "Settings" button.
The default of "Use system proxy settings" piggybacks on your Windows LAN connection settings, but you could try "No proxy" to see whether that makes a difference.
CouerDeLeon said
I have downloaded the Win64 version of FF but am reluctant to install it in case it gets hijacked.
When you posted, your Firefox identified itself as version 43 x64, so I'm not sure what is different about the one you downloaded just now.
Ok. Wasn't aware the Portable version was x64. Thanks for the suggestions. Just standard Win network settings though it was set to : Use System Proxy settings so I will see how how it runs without a proxy. No private VPN. MalwareBytes has just removed a few things that were Hijack ware, and so I will run for a while and see what happens before changing the Proxy settings. Will post here the results good, or bad. Cheers.
Chosen Solution
Malwarebytes removed 2 odd files about 40hrs ago and the problem hass not surfaced since. So, this may be solved.
Thanks for the help.
Trevor